stratification (n.)

In SOCIOLINGUISTICS, a term which refers to the distribution of linguistic VARIABLES in relation to the various levels (strata) of society; also called social stratification. When there is a clear-cut difference in the way the members of two groups (e.g. working-class and middle-class) use a linguistic variable, the phenomenon is called sharp stratification, a pattern often seen with GRAMMATICAL variation; when there is a step-like progression, the effect is described as gradient stratification, a pattern typical of PHONOLOGICAL variation.